Coordinating Center to Support Multi-Sectoral Preventive Interventions that Address Social Determinants of Health in Populations that Experience Health Disparities (U24, Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA OD 24 006

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA OD 24 006

This funding opportunity (RFA-OD-24-006) from the National Institutes of Health supports a single Coordinating Center (CC) for the Multi-Sectoral Preventive Interventions (MSPI) Research Network. The network is being set up to rigorously test prospective, multi-sector preventive interventions that address social determinants of health (SDOH) in populations that experience health disparities. The CC is funded through a U24 cooperative agreement, meaning NIH will have substantial involvement and the awardee is expected to work in close partnership with NIH and the rest of the network rather than operating as a completely independent grantee.

The MSPI Research Network is envisioned as a coordinated set of teams rather than stand-alone projects. It will include the Coordinating Center funded under this announcement and up to 10 separate Research Projects funded through a companion UG3/UH3 phased cooperative agreement opportunity focused on multi-sector preventive interventions addressing SDOH. In practical terms, the CC functions as the backbone organization that keeps the entire network aligned, helps establish common approaches where appropriate, and enables cross-project learning and efficiency. Because the CC and the research projects are designed to operate as one network with shared goals, applicants are expected to review the companion UG3/UH3 NOFO to understand how the individual research projects will be structured and what kinds of support they will need from the CC.

The CCs responsibilities fall into three main domains. First, it provides administration, coordination, and communication support across the network. This typically includes organizing governance structures, scheduling and running network meetings, maintaining consistent communication channels among NIH, the CC, and the research project teams, tracking milestones and deliverables, and managing network-level documentation and reporting. The aim is to make collaboration routine rather than ad hoc, so that research teams can focus on implementing and evaluating interventions while the CC keeps shared processes running smoothly.

Second, the CC is expected to deliver methodology, data, and analytic support and consultation. This is meant to strengthen the scientific rigor and comparability of work across the network without forcing all projects into a one-size-fits-all model. In a network studying multi-sector SDOH interventions, this kind of support often involves guidance on study design choices suitable for real-world preventive interventions, harmonization strategies for key measures where feasible, development of common data elements or shared metrics, data management infrastructure and quality assurance practices, and analytic consultation that helps projects address complex, multi-level interventions and heterogeneous populations. The emphasis is on enabling strong evaluation and cross-project synthesis, so the network can generate findings that are both locally relevant and broadly informative.

Third, the CC supports community and other collaborator engagement and dissemination. Because the focus is on SDOH and populations experiencing health disparities, meaningful engagement with communities and partners outside the health sector is central to the networks success. The CC is expected to help projects engage community members and multi-sector collaborators in ways that are respectful, sustainable, and practically useful for intervention design, implementation, and interpretation of results. It also supports dissemination so that lessons from the network are communicated effectively to stakeholders who can use them, including community organizations, policy and practice audiences, and cross-sector partners involved in housing, education, transportation, employment, food systems, and other SDOH-related areas.

This opportunity is explicitly labeled Clinical Trial Not Allowed, so the Coordinating Center itself should not propose a clinical trial under this U24. Instead, the CC role is to coordinate and support the network, providing infrastructure and expertise that helps the separately funded intervention projects succeed and produce actionable evidence.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities: state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized governments; public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The announcement also highlights additional eligible applicant types such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. However, foreign components may be allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which generally means limited foreign involvement can be included under specific conditions even though the applicant organization must be U.S.-based.

Key administrative details included in the source information are that the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement (U24) within the health funding category, associated with CFDA numbers 93.307 and 93.310. The original closing date listed is August 5, 2024. The award ceiling is $1,000,000. The opportunity is presented as supporting the single Coordinating Center that will serve the entire MSPI Research Network, with the companion UG3/UH3 mechanism funding up to 10 separate research projects that the CC will help coordinate and support.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Coordinating Center to Support Multi-Sectoral Preventive Interventions that Address Social Determinants of Health in Populations that Experience Health Disparities (U24, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.307, 93.310.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-11-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-08-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA OD 24 006

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